Wide wavelength range and high speed SiGe/Si multi quantum-well silicon-on-insulator-based lateral PIN photodiode

Abstract

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based silicon germanium (SiGe) multi quantum-well (MQW) infrared PIN photodiode has a broad range of application including infrared sensors as well as in optical fiber communications. In this paper, we present improvement of a virtual lateral PIN photodiode with a SiGe/Si MQW structure as compared to a photodiode developed on bulk silicon. Hence, 5 periods of stacked SiGe MQW were grown on Si(100) substrate with a buried oxide (BOX) layer. A lateral PIN photodiode consisting of the SiGe/Si MQW layers as the active absorption layer with intensity response in the 800-1600 nm wavelength range was demonstrated. The results obtained for total quantum efficiency (TQE) and response speed were 26% and 16.7 ps (20.8 GHz) respectively for design parameters of intrinsic region length of 6 μm, photo-absorption layer thickness of 0.305 μm, incident optical power of 1 mW/cm2 and bias voltage of 2 V. In summary, the incorporation of SiGe MQWs into the standard lateral PIN photodiode has increased both the detection wavelength range up to the infrared region and the frequency response of the device. Copyright © 2014 American Scientific Publishers